Star Wars: The Force Awakens Speculation Part 3

They are quickly pursued by more Tie Fighters, and have a dogfight as they make their way out of range of the star destroyer.  Poe is able to take down two of the three Tie Fighters before the third one lands a fatal blow to their ship.  Their only hope is to crash land, so they start flying towards the desert planet below. The 2 men and BB-8 crash hard on the surface of Jakku, their ship skidding across the sand and collapses in a nearby dune.  Poe and Finn are both out cold.  BB-8 tries to wake his master to no avail, and heads off over the dines toward a mall settlement far off.

Soon after BB-8 is picked up by a scavenger riding a large creature.  The droid lets out noises of struggle that are heard by Rey, who is on her way to work on the Falcon.  Rey confronts BB-8's captor and asks if that droid is really his, the scavenger threatens Rey to stay away, but when she tries to free BB-8 he attacks her.  Rey quickly proves she can hold her own in a fight, as she quickly knocks the brute out with her staff.  She cuts BB-8 free of the net and brings it along to the Falcon.  While working on the Falcon Rey befriends the droid, asking it questions about its origin, when suddenly, there is a sound of booted up power, and more lights come on.

Rey smiles, she sits in the pilots seat and powers up the ship.  It works, the Falcon rises as more sand and debris falls off of it, and Rey expertly flies the ship out of the destroyer.

We cut back to Poe, who slowly wakes up next to Finn, who is still unconscious. This is his chance to escape, although he doesn't see his pal BB-8 anywhere. It is hot, Poe takes off his jacket and leaves it in the wreckage of the TIE fighter.  He reaches for his boot, where he activates a small button on it.  It's a tracker, and he begins moving towards the settlement in hopes that a rescue party will be sent for him from the resistance.

Rey has now flown the Falcon with BB-8 back to her home, which is the hollowed out remains of an ATAT Walker.  Her father is livid at her blatant disregard for his wishes, and orders her to sell the ship. He is hiding something.

We now see another vision of the super weapon, this is another one of Finn's nightmares. In the vision another planet is vaporized, and Finn jolts up from his slumber.  He looks around, but Poe and BB-8 are both gone.  He sheds his armor and puts on the jacket Poe left behind to look like a rebel pilot, and makes his way towards the settlement.  When Finn arrives he enters a bar where he's being glared at unfavorably.  Jakku is a neutral colony with no interest in the war, so the sight of a rebel pilot only spells trouble.  A few large, dangerous aliens make their way towards Finn, they ask him what his business is, and threaten him due to his ties with the war.  A voice behind the alien tells them to stand down, it's Rey.  She apparently is known to these aliens, and they like her and know her as the daughter of the village leader, so they comply.

Although she is equally skeptical of Finn, she doesn't trust him, especially because BB-8 is reacting strangely to seeing Finn again.  Finn wants to find out what happened to Poe, so he subtlety tries to gain information from Rey about how she and BB-8 came together without giving away his origin as a member of the First Order.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the town, a rebel shuttle lands to find Poe waiting for it, he looks pleased.  The shuttle ramp lowers down and Poe is met by Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) who have been sent to pick him up.  Poe and Han greet each other, although it's a little awkward as we will learn that Han and Leia have been separated for some time now, and Poe has always been closer with Leia and resented Han for his alienation of Leia.  The three board the shuttle as Han says some wisecrack like "let's get off this rock" (or some other Han-esque thing).  As they're flying Chewie lets out a great roar, and shows Han what he's seeing.

It's the Falcon.  The shuttle lands and Han reveres at the sight of his old ship.  He orders Poe to go on and reunite with the resistance, as there was no way he would leave without the Falcon.  Poe complies as he doesn't really enjoy spending time with Han anyway.  Han and Chewie board the Falcon, prompting the now famous line from the trailer "Chewie, we're home."

Cut back to Rey and Finn, who are walking (and Rey's trying to get rid of him).  They approach Rey's speeder when suddenly two TIE fighters scream by and blast Rey's speeder to bits.  The First Order has come looking for Poe and Finn, and they've found at least one of their men.  The Fighters make another pass, and Finn shoves Rey out of the way, taking a blast himself which puts him on the ground.  Rey comes back and helps Finn up, she trusts him now, and the two start running for it. The two sprint towards Rey's home, their only hope to board the Falcon and escape.

Meanwhile, Captain Phasma and a small legion of stormtroopers have found the village leader, Rey's father at their home, and also pull Han and Chewie off the Falcon and put them on their knees outside. Phasma questions the village leader about the whereabouts of any unfamiliar faces in the village.  The old man has been looking strangely at Han, as if he knows him. The village leader has some kind of contempt for the First Order, so in his questioning he spits on Phasma's helmet.  Phasma, doesn't budge, but a beat later shoots the man and kills him in cold blood.  The Captain walks over to Han and Chewie, she knows exactly who they are, and is very pleased to bring them to Kylo Ren alive.

Rey and Finn run towards the Falcon, Rey let's out a blood curdling scream at the sight of her slaughtered father.  Phasma and the stormtroopers hear while Finn quickly puts his hand over Rey's mouth.  The distraction allows Han and Chewie to overpower and disarm two stormtroopers.  A fight ensues and Rey, Finn, Han and Chewie all move towards the Falcon while blasting at troopers.  Phasma shoots Chewie in the arm, and Han covers him while they continue their escape.  Rey and Finn reach the Falcon first and Rey begins powering up for take off.  Finn gets on the guns and takes out the rest of the troopers, also knocking out Captain Phasma.

The TIE fighters are still after them, and as Han and Chewie board the ship they are all weary of trusting one another, but they have no time.  Han, being the grouch he is kicks Rey out of the pilot chair and takes off.  Chewbacca is roars in pain as Finn begins to clean his wound.  Chewie growls at him at first but reluctantly let's him help, which Han notices. With Han in control they have a dogfight near the planet's surface trying to lose the TIE fighters.  Rey eventually grows tired of this and demands the controls back from Han, she says she knows this land and can defeat them.

Han finally gives up control as Rey heads for the scrap star destroyer, and flies into it.  Han thinks she's crazy, but she flies with precision and perfection as both Tie fighters are destroyed by the mangled twists and turns of the chasm. Han is impressed.  Now that they're free of danger they finally introduce themselves to each other. Turns out Han and Chewie were part of the great battle over Jakku, but were on a failed mission during which Lando Calrissian was killed and the Flacon was taken from them.  Han adds something like "they've taken a lot from us."

After the loss of the Falcon and the death of Lando, Han started alienating himself from the rebellion and from Leia.  The only reason he came this time was because he was alerted it was Poe who was in trouble who he cares for greatly, despite their tension between each other.  Finn then shares the trouble he's had with his nightmares, and how realistic they are, and how he fears the First Order may have prepared a new super weapon with more power than 10 death stars.  Finn explains the strange connection he has to Kylo Ren, and doesn't understand how the things he does are possible.  Han then explains to Finn and Rey that all the legends of the Jedi and the Force are true.  That Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader were Jedi masters, and that Kylo Ren may also be a Jedi.

They are both amazed by these stories.  Han, worried about Finn's visions, knows where they must go to get answers.  Although he is reluctant to this as he knows it means a reunion with Leia.  So Han, Chewie, Rey, Finn and BB-8 fly to an unknown planet, which is lush with vegetation and jungle.  Han leads them to a castle that is a fortified stronghold with many flags of people of the galaxy. This is the castle of Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong'o).  It is sort of a hybrid between Jabba's palace and the Cantina in Mos Eisley.  It is jovial, loud, and filled with some very nasty looking characters.  But Maz, their leader, is a mystical pirate who has sided with the rebellion.

When the companions enter they are greeted by a Mandolorian.  Not Boba Fett obviously, but someone from the same planet Jango was from originally, so their armor is that of Boba and Jango's.  Han asks to see Maz, and they are led to her chamber. Maz is sort of a Yoda-like figure, she is old, very wise, and has mystical, potentially Force enabled abilities.  She greets them and her eyes become very wide at the sight of Rey.  She explains that Rey brings great evil with her, as she can sense the presence of the dark side in her.  Finn stands up for her, saying that it's not her that brings the dark side, but him, and he admits that he used to fight for the First Order.  Rey is shocked, and now angry that it was Finn's fault that brought Captain Phasma to Jakku and murdered her father.

Maz interjects, "your father is not dead." Maz proceeds to show them all a vision of the past.  The man she thought was her father was really a Grand Moff of the old empire, and was aboard the star destroyer that crashed on Jakku.  Before the battle, infiltration of a rebel ship resulted in the slaughter of many rebels. And as the imperial troops closed in, Leia and Han ordered Lando to take their newly born twin babies, a boy and a girl, and escape with them in the Millennium Falcon.  Lando complied, but when he left the rebel ship he was quickly caught in a tractor beam, killed, and the babies were turned over to the Empire.

Eventually Han, Leia, and the rest of the resistance fought off the imperial troops and began firing on the Star Destroyer, not knowing their kids were on board. The rebels landed a fatal blow to the immense ship, and it began free falling toward the surface of Jakku.  Han and Leia couldn't get in communication with Lando, and feared the worst for their friend and their children.

On board the Star Destroyer, imperial officers were racing to the escape pods, the Grand Moff did the same, but he felt sympathetic for the kidnapped children of the Solos. When he went to find them only the girl was there, crying.  He picked her up and went to the escape pods.  It is unknown what happened to the boy.  He crash landed on Jakku, and waited for aid to come from the Empire, but it never did, and he set up a scavenger colony and raised the girl as 'Rey'.  Due to their lack of support, he grew bitter and hated the First Order.  He always feared Rey would discover who she was, and now she has, the daughter of Princess Leia and Han Solo.

The vision collapses, and Han and Rey stare at each other at a loss for words.  Tears stream down Rey's face as she moves toward her long-lost father and embraces him.  At this moment Leia, Poe, and C3-PO enter the chamber. Han, still perplexed, says "Leia," to which Rey turns around and runs toward her long lost mother.  Leia says she always sensed her children survived that day.  Poe gives Finn a look as if to say "we're cool." As the Solo family has their reunion, Maz orders the Madolorian to bring her her treasures.  She says something like "I suppose that makes this a family heirloom." She pulls out of a box with many strange looking artifacts in it a lightsaber.  She hands it to Leia, "this belonged to your brother, and your father before him."

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Speculation Part 2

We now cut to a desert planet, where the wreckage of an enormous star destroyer is half-buried in the dunes as a speeder races toward it.  Once the speeder approaches the wreck, a person hops off and begins preparing great to enter the ship.  This is obviously Rey (Daisy Ridley), a scavenger living on Jakku, a desert planet that was uninhabited until a great battle over it left many survivors both imperial and resistance marooned.  Rey lives in the colony established by her father (Max von Sydow) whose name has not been revealed as of yet.

Rey enters the star destroyer and begins looking around for relics or parts that could be useful to her.  She eventually gathers a few things and begins to leave when she notices something peculiar and checks it out.  She uncovers an object from years worth of sand and scraps to find a panel. she pries the panel open and and enters. She lights a torch and begins to look around. She is inside a ship of some kind, a smaller ship that must have been in the holding bay of the star destroyer when it crashed. She finds a control panel and is shocked to learn that the ship still has power, and when she tuns on the lights we learn that she is inside the Millennium Falcon.

She sits down at the control panel, the windows in front of her are covered in sand, she tries to power the ship to fly but it is too far buried and it's flight capabilities have obviously been broken by the years of decay.  She is still elated at this discovery though, and she hopes to work on the machine to get it back in working order.  She returns to her speeder and heads home.  When she arrives her father (the village leader) asks if she found anything useful to sell at market, Rey quickly shows him the bag of scraps, but is much more excited about the Falcon, and begins to tell him what she found and her plans to restore it.  The old man has an expression of worry on his face before he tells Rey not to tinker with old Imperial machines.

Rey grovels with him and she doesn't know why he's so adamant about staying away from the ship, but in the end the old man forbids her to return to the Falcon.  Rey is upset because she longs to leave Jakku, where she feels trapped, and if not she could sell a fully operational ship for a great cost to help provide for her aging father.  Rey begins returning to the Falcon in secret, where she's working on its mechanics as well as digging it out from the sand and debris.

We now cut back to Poe, who is laying on a hard bed in his cell.  We are also shown Finn to be asleep in a bunk surrounded by other off-duty troopers.  Poe's cell door quickly slides open, Kylo Ren is standing there, he enters and begins to interrogate Poe.  He asks Poe about the location of Leia, which Poe quickly makes clear he will not give up.  Kylo then asks about Luke Skywalker, and if he knew anything about Luke's location.  Poe scoffs at the idea, as no one had seen or heard of Luke for the last 28 years.  Kylo still demands information, and begins to use the force to torture Poe, he shows Poe the kind of power the First Order has attained, and the threat of unleashing that power upon everyone he cares about.

In Poe's mind Kylo shows him a weapon, a weapon that has the power to wipe out an entire star system.  In an illusion the power of the weapon is demonstrated, and Poe watches as many planets and people of the resistance, including Leia, are killed.  Finn, in his slumber, begins tossing and turning, he is sweating profusely, and he too is seeing the images of this weapon killing millions.  Poe is tortured by the illusion of the weapon, as well as the pain that Kylo is inflicting from being in his head with the force, but he still refuses to give up any information.  Kylo angrily halts the torture and leaves, simultaneously Finn awakes from his nightmare.  Poe drops to the floor, and Finn gets out of his bed and begins nervously but quickly putting on his armor.

Finn moves quickly to the prison wing, where he opens Poe's cell to find the man passed out on the floor.  He coaxes Poe awake and asks him what Kylo did to him and what he showed him.  Poe is confused so Finn removes his helmet and asks again.  There are guards approaching, so Finn makes the decision to escape, but he needs a pilot, so he brings Poe with him to fly and help him learn more about his nightmare, as he's confident now he is fighting on the wrong side.  He convinces Poe to come, and begins escorting him out of the cell.  The guards ask what he's doing, and Finn explains it's a prisoner transfer.  The guards are suspicious and demand confirmation of the order, to which Finn shoots them both.  Poe picks up one of the guards' guns and the two begin to make their escape toward the shuttle bay.

Alarms are sounding but Poe and Finn fight their way to the hanger, a massive legion of stormtroopers are running down a corridor towards the bay, but BB-8 plugs in and closes the doors to the hanger when seeing his master is the cause of all the stir.  BB-8, Poe and Finn hold off the remaining stormtroopers and climb into a Tie Fighter.  Poe, an experienced pilot and X-Wing leader takes the controls and the ship begins to rise.  He shoots the stormtroopers that are in pursuit of them, and nearly destroys the hanger before blasting out into open space.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Speculation Part 1

The date is November 15th 2015, we are barely over a month away from the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  Normally I don't enjoy speculation and try not to indulge in it, because I don't see any merit in correctly predicting the plot of a film.  However, J.J. Abrams and the marketing department at Disney have done such an excellent job protecting the plot to this film, that it could be fun to make a few predictions that also include some of my personal hopes for what will certainly be the biggest movie of the decade.  At this point I have seen the 3 main trailers for the movie, but I have stopped watching any promotional material after that for fear of spoilers. And speaking of spoilers, I obviously know very little about the plot of this movie, but there potentially could be some in this prediction, you've been warned!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

We start with a traditional front crawl, explaining that after the fall of Palpatine and the death of Darth Vader, factions of the empire have broken up and and waged war for many years to step into the imperial role.  The strongest of these being the First Order, which will have completely stepped into the role of the Empire by the beginning of The Force Awakens.  The First Order is led by Supreme Leader Snoke, a motion capture character played by Andy Serkis that will only appear ambiguously in this film, as he will be a more prevalent antagonist in later sequels.

After the crawl we see an upgraded Star Destroyer slowly fly in from the top of the screen and move towards a small green planet.  Inside the destroyer we are introduced to Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) who is told by his second-in-command Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) that it is time to go to the shuttles that will land on the planet.  Ren complies and as he's leaving he is told by General Hux (Domnhall Gleeson) something to the effect of "this wild goose chase better be worth it." There is obviously tension between Ren and Hux reminiscent of the displeasure between Darth Vader and some of the Imperial Officers.

Down on the planet, there are alarms sounding and members of the resistance are preparing for infiltration. Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac) is running through dark corridors of a hideout with his droid BB-8 when he comes to a control room with high ranking rebel officials.  Notable characters in this room are C3-PO (Anthony Daniels), Admiral Akbar, other familiar faces from the battle of Endor, but most importantly, General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher).  Dameron urgently explains that the First Order is coming and the leadership needs to flee.

In the last 30 years it was never made clear what really happened that caused the defeat of the Empire.  The Jedi and the force have passed into legend, and everyone still remembers Darth Vader as a tyrant instead of the man who defeated the emperor and brought balance to the force.  What is known, or at least perceived, is that somehow, Luke Skywalker defeated and killed both Palpatine and Vader.  Therefore he is the most wanted man in the galaxy, especially by Ren, who is something of a Vader worshipper, and wants revenge.  Ren justifies this revenge to the First Order by saying Luke Skywalker's death will be the greatest blow to the resistance, who over the last 30 years has grown and holds almost as great an influence in the galaxy as The First Order.

Because of this, Ren has been searching for Leia, as he believes she knows the location of her brother. As Ren descends to the surface of the planet, there are many other shuttles filled with new and improved stormtroopers preparing themselves for battle.  The shuttles land and Ren exits.  A stormtrooper then brings a man dressed in resistance garb and puts him on his knees in front of Ren.  This man was clearly captured by the First Order and gave up the location of the rebel base.  Ren asks the man if he is sure that the General (meaning Leia) is here. The man says he's not sure right before Ren promptly orders the stormtooper to kill the man.

The stormtrooper hesitates, looking at the man, before Ren orders the execution again.  Once again the stormtrooper hesitates, saying something like "he could still be useful to us."  Ren stares at the stormtrooper intently, there is something mystical about his glare, and it is clearly effecting the trooper.  Ren then quickly draws a red, cross-bladed lightsaber and executes the rebel. Ren looks again at the stormtrooper and walks away.  As soon as Ren is gone the trooper drops to his knees, he then retreats to the shuttle and takes off his helmet.  He is sweating and breathing heavily, the feeling of Ren in his head like that, he has felt it before.  This is our introduction to Finn (John Boyega).

Back to Poe Dameron, who was conceived after the battle of Endor, has been raised among the resistance his entire life, and after his parents were killed Leia acted as somewhat of a surrogate mother for him, so he is adamant about her escape.  Leia is resistant at first but eventually agrees and she is hurried to an escape shuttle.  She argues with Dameron for a moment, who demands that he stays behind to hold them off while the leaders make their escape.  The leadership gets away as Dameron and BB-8 run back to the control room.

When Dameron reaches the control room he finds Kylo Ren, who is holding a rebel by the throat.  He sees Dameron and drops the corpse to the floor and asks where the General is.  Dameron says something like "Out of your reach," to which Ren replies something to the effect of "I sense you are close with the General, perhaps you will be equally serviceable to us." Poe fights for a moment but is quickly taken into the custody of the stormtroopers.  BB-8 is ignored by the troopers, but follows them in hopes of staying with his master.  Poe is placed on one of the shuttles (which BB-8 then sneaks on to), sitting across from Finn (whose helmet is back on now).  Finn is staring at Poe, noticing how beaten and bloody he is.  It would be awesome here if Poe said something like "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?" But more likely it will be some wisecrack that makes Finn question the morality of his employers.

Leia looks on from the shuttle as the Rebel Base goes up in flames.  This is intermittent with shots of the stormtroopers and Captain Phasma destroying everything in sight.  She is sad but she does make it out.  Next we see Finn and another trooper ordered to escort Poe off the shuttle and to his prisoner cell on the star destroyer.  BB-8 rolls off the shuttle but stays hidden in the docking bay.  Finn and the other stormtrooper put Poe in his cell, and once again Finn looks on in a sympathetic way before he leaves.

I Can't Believe You Haven't Seen I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

Part 3 of the Films of the 1930s series concludes with director Mervyn LeRoy's 1932 film I am a fugitive from a Chain Gang!

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is a 1932 film by Mervyn Leroy that brings to light the evil and wickedness of the Chain Gang system in Georgia. What was gripping about this film is that it still stands today as a compelling story, one that makes you look at the social constructs of the US and think about the atrocities that were so prevalent in governmental adherence.

These chain gang prison camps are depicted in what seems to be an accurate way, which is terrifying because although this film was made about 8 years before World War II, they are extremely reminiscent of the concentration camps during the Holocaust. So if there was a time in our country that a state government treated criminals with the same viciousness as Adolph Hitler, what are the atrocities that we are overlooking today?

James Allen is a tragic character as we are meant to sympathize with him throughout the film. Paul Muni’s performance is extremely nuanced and actually stands the test of time in that it is not as campy or over exaggerated. He lets the emotion be portrayed in his eyes and body language, and doesn’t wear his sentiments on his sleeve as much as other Depression era actors, but still conveys passion and depth. 

It is interesting that this film came out at a time when this was still a major issue. The chain gang system was still in use for “rehabilitation” purposes and the Georgia criminal justice commission was known for the corrupt, iron-fist way in which it operated. Often times movies that are making a social statement come out years after the social construct is relevant.

Paul Muni is 'James Allen' and 'Allen James'

This keeps confrontation and resistance to the film at a minimum and therefore maximizes the profits. This was a brave film in that although it didn’t directly mention Georgia, it was heavily referenced and portrayed the state as corrupt and Chicago as the beacon of virtuous freedom. That would be like a major film coming out today that explores the racial profiling that goes on in police departments of certain states and cities.

Of course with social commentary comes bias, and there is some in this movie, but for the most part the film I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is an honest film about survival and the perseverance of the human spirit. It is a depression era epic that is reminiscent of a Holes and Les Miserables mash-up. The boldness of this film is one that filmmakers should adopt in modern storytelling, and Paul Muni brings a character to life that despite his tribulations, continually works towards his dreams of something more, a characteristic that as an audience we can admire.

I Can't Believe You Haven't Seen The Public Enemy

Part 2 of my Films of the 1930s series continues with James Cagney in The Public Enemy.

Hollywood is currently in the midst of a golden age of anti-heroes: Walter White of Breaking Bad, Don Draper of Mad Men, Frank Underwood of House of Cards, as well as huge film characters who are declared villains that we just can’t help but love, such as Loki from The Avengers and The Joker from The Dark Knight.

James Cagney is 'Tom Powers'

So what is it that compels us to root for these characters and their activities that are often atrocities comparable to some of the most evil men in history? In the 1931 film The Public Enemy, James Cagney weaves the character of Tom Powers in a way that leaves us fluctuating between our love and hate for him, which directly plays a role in the fate of the character of Matt Doyle, and why figures like Tom are so dangerous, whether he has his gun or not.

In his book We’re in the Money, Andrew Bergman asserts that gangster movies were a vessel to rescue audiences from the individualistic nature of a capitalist America. That the ‘American Dream’ was one that was saturating the lives of everyday Americans who worked hard, but were not experiencing the rags-to-riches assurance that this dream promised. What’s interesting about this is that it is still true today.

The wage gap in America is massive and growing like a festering wound as the poor become poorer and the rich become richer. The ‘American Dream’ can no longer be such a narrow-minded one, because there are now so many outlets and walks of life to maintain a livelihood. And that is why Tom Powers is such an attractive character to us. He is rude, malicious, bossy, ill-tempered, and greedy. But he is also charming, smart, passionate, and best of all, he beat the system!

Edward Woods is 'Matt Doye'

He went outside of the law, stuck it to the Man and made his fortune, which is one of the secret desires of many people’s hearts: to find a loophole and exploit it to their own benefit. This is our connection with Tom, and it is a connection that his best friend, Matt Doyle, shares. It is evident throughout the film that Matt does not approve of all of Tom’s activities. He is weary about killing off their old pal Putty Nose, and he really just wants to settle down and be a family man. Tragically, his loyalty and connection with Tom end up being his downfall, which is what makes Matt’s story the most heartbreaking arc in this film.

A boy who enters the system due to influence from another, only to find himself trapped there as a grown man with the only escape being his demise. It hearkens to the current nature of poverty and crime in America. Young boys and girls, moms and dads, will do anything to get by and provide for their families, but the second they get caught it ruins all their chances at a redemptive lifestyle.

The Public Enemy plays almost like a Greek Tragedy throughout its story, as a ‘tragic hero’ is defined as a protagonist who either loses everything they love, or dies. Tom Powers loses his job, his best friend, his brother’s respect, and ends up in a body bag along the way. Considering it was his own hubris that got him to this destination, Tom is undoubtedly a tragic hero, one that we can love, respect and admire, but it is that admiration that will trap us and keep us, until we find ourselves on the wrong side, rooting for the bad guy.

I Can't Believe You Haven't Seen Dinner At Eight

We've recently passed the 86th anniversary of October 29th 1929: The day the stock market crashed and the beginning of The Great Depression.  While the following decade was one of desperation and hardship, the film industry provided an escape for the realities of life, and continued to make quality films in this time of trouble.  This will begin a three-part series of revered films from the 1930s that changed the landscape of movies and provided an outlook on the political and social spectrum of the Great Depression. Beginning with the Barrymore classic Dinner At Eight!

The Great Depression is characterized by struggle, dejection, and desperation. The United States had the wind knocked out of it following the grandeur of the 1920s, and was now seeking a way to lift itself out of a hole dug by a decade of frivolous consumption and wasteful decadence. George Cukor masterfully weaves these characterizations into his 1933 film Dinner At Eight by following a group of well-off individuals whose finances and reputations take a hit when the Depression rolls around, and their consistent denial of changing times provide a new capacity of tribulations people faced during this era.

Lionel Barrymore as 'Oliver Jordan'

Three characters in particular capture theme of denial: Oliver Jordan, played by Lionel Barrymore, Carlotta Vance, played by Marie Dressler, and Larry Renault, played by John Barrymore. While all the movie’s characters provided some degree of ineptitude, these three were the strongest representations of the Depression’s effects on the upper class.

Oliver Jordan is a prominent New York shipping magnate, a man who has clearly done well for himself and provided his family with a lavish lifestyle. However, although he comes across as one of the gentler, sweeter characters in the film, he suffers from a classic flaw of many heroes: hubris. Oliver’s company is seeing hard times, and we also learn that he has a condition that when accelerated by stress could kill him. Oliver’s desperation to appear as having everything in control and wanting to offer his wife everything she could ever want or need nearly ends his life. In many ways Oliver’s flaw is a noble one, he truly wants what is best for his family, but he still fails to recognize that America has entered a time of turmoil, and his family would not go unaffected.

Carlotta Vance is such an important character in this film. First of all, she beautifully sums up the style of acting that was popular in the 1930s. She wears all of her emotions on her sleeve, often overreacting to moments in a very theatrical, grand style. She provides a hilarious point of view to the many scenarios flying around this movie, and gives a personality that you won’t necessarily like, but will certainly make you laugh. More importantly, her character speaks to the financial difficulties many faced during the Depression and the rejection to alter her lifestyle.

Marie Dressler as 'Carlotta Vance'

Carlotta is completely broke; she has nothing lined up in her field and is essentially finished as an actress. And yet, she still wears a fine fur coat, has all kinds of jewelry, and is more willing to part with her stock in Oliver’s company (and potentially damage her friendship with him) that give up her material items. On top of all that, she consistently expects to be treated like royalty as she probably was for most of her life. This is once again a failure to accept the changes that came with the turbulence of the Depression.

Larry Renault is the most intriguing character in this movie, and John Barrymore is the greatest reason for that. Renault is broken, bitter, and living in a world constructed by his own fantasies in which he is still relevant. Renault’s distress speaks to the feelings and fears that all of us face: Do I really matter in this world? And if I don’t, what do I do now?

John Barrymore as 'Lawrence Renault'

John Barrymore dealt with a drinking problem for most of his life (in fact, it attributed to his demise at the age of 60), and he brings that addictive suffering to his performance as Renault. This is the ultimate form of denial. Larry would rather die with the slightest shred of pride than face the truth that has just been made very clear to him by his manager. As a successful actor in silent films, and now a washed up has-been due to the age of the Talkies, Renault refuses to adapt, refuses to learn, and even refuses to believe the reality of his financial needs.

Dinner At Eight provides an interesting perspective on the nature of the Great Depression, because rarely do we think about the entertainment business at this time. We’re given insight to the business struggles of the time through Mr. Jordan, but also the changes those in show business faced through Carlotta and Renault, and how two people who were no longer relevant had very few options at the time. That being said, the film also captures the catastrophes that can occur when we fail to study the zeitgeist of our generation, and adapt and innovate in the ways that the rest of humanity will.

Django Unchained and the Lost Cause Theory Part 2

Another example of the film’s opposition to the Lost Cause Theory is represented by the chorus, or the ensemble of less important characters.  These people all serve as comic relief mostly, and they are simply caricatures as to what the audience pictures as an average Southern citizen.

For example, there is a scene in which the Klu Klux Klan attempts to kill Django, but instead they bicker for prolonged time about how poorly the eyeholes were cut in their masks.  They are depicted as idiots and rednecks and typify a group of white Southern males.

In addition, many of the evil workers of Calvin Candie are represented as odorous hillbillies who can barely be understood because of their deep accents and barbaric dialects.  By portraying these Southerners as such moronic representations, the film pretty much defies any hope that the Lost Cause Theory was a plausible disposition that any Southerner could have comprised.

Django Unchained was met with much opposition when it was released, not because of the gore and violence, but because of the heavy use of the word “nigger”.  This opposition is a classic reflection of the national attitude about racism.

It is a popular belief that the survival of the word “nigger” is racist in itself, while others believe that avoiding the word gives it even more power.  While there certainly were biases in Tarantino’s interpretation of slavery-era South, his use of the word is probably the most accurate aspect of the film.

It is not surprising however, that our modern society was so up in arms about it, as our efforts to avoid or fix racism have really contributed to the idea that whites are trying to forget about the era entirely.

Many believe that the best way to end racism is to acknowledge that it happened and continues to happen, and to move on without giving blacks or whites any special treatment in regard to race emotions, while others believe that doing this will simply enable our future generations to make the same mistakes our ancestors made.

Samuel L. Jackson plays 'Stephen,' the loyal
slave to Calvin Candie

The fact that Tarantino refused to back down to this opposition makes him a brave filmmaker, and Django has certainly been a great addition to modern cinema.

Django Unchained serves as a time machine that takes an audience to 1858 American South for three hours.  In these three hours it accomplishes an incredible story about redemption and revenge, but the most prominent aspect to take from this movie is its ability to paint a picture for the audience that disavows any Southern attempts to restore the values of certain actions and evil deeds done by many during that time.  It counteracts the Lost Cause Theory and creates a creative imagery for the zeitgeist of the era.

Django Unchained and the Lost Cause Theory Part 1

The Civil War was in many aspects an epic failure for the Confederate States of America.  However, if they were going to be defeated in battle, they could attempt a last-ditch effort to win the war of history.

The new goal of the Southerners was to infuse propaganda and literature about the nobility of the secession, and the chivalrous tribulations the rebels endured in order to rescue their citizens from the wicked North.  This movement among historians became known as the Lost Cause Theory, the Southerner’s last chance at restoring their name in history.

Leo DiCaprio portrays the wicked 'Calvin Candie'

Django Unchained, the 2012 historical thriller directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, and Leonardo DiCaprio could almost be characterized as an antonym to the Lost Cause Theory.  The film provides example upon example of the wickedness of the Deep South at the time, and the emotional intensity of slavery that would fan the flames of the approaching Civil War (the film is set in 1858).  Exploring this movie provides an in-depth look at a creative outlet in which violence is praised and considered artistic, while still characterizing the South as evil and completely counteracting the concept of the Lost Cause.

Django Unchained’s most prominent illustration of good and evil shows through its characters.  Django, played by Jamie Foxx, is a freed slave turned bounty hunter who amasses a fortune enough to hopefully buy his slave wife’s freedom in the near future.  Django is the epitome of the principle that “the end always justifies the means” as he accumulates quite the body count throughout the movie, killing evil men for what he believes to be right.

His mentor and liberator, Dr. King Schultz, played by Christoph Waltz, is a dentist from the North who found a better paycheck through bounty hunting.  His new occupation took him South where is hatred for slavery grew stronger every day.

These two characters serve as the protagonists, the former slave and the Northerner, who work together to deceive the antagonist, Monsieur Calvin Candie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio.  Candie is a Mississippi slave owner who possesses Django’s wife Hildy, and reveals greater levels of wickedness as the film goes on that the audience could not have at first imagined.

Jamie Foxx plays the titular 'Django'

While it is hard to find any of these characters as particularly noble, there is a clear theme throughout the movie that pits everyone against Django and Schultz, and seeing as it is set in the South the audience is given the impression that everyone in that region are black-hating slave hunters.  Through Candie, Quentin Tarantino successfully characterizes the entire South as a wicked place of the world, which is the opposite of the goal of those who support the Lost Cause Theory.

            

My Top 10 Favorite Actors of All-Time

Characters are what make movies great, and these characters are nothing without the men that bring them to life.  There will be a followup post about my top 10 favorite actresses of all time, so this will be exclusively males, and will feature actors predominantly made famous in movies, so prominent television actors will not appear.  Remember, these are my opinions, if your choices are different, that's great! Let me know who your favorites are and enjoy the read.

10. Chris Pine
Chris Pine doesn't have a huge array of important work under his belt yet, but he is young and charismatic, and he was able to make Star Trek cool.  My respect grew for him after seeing him in Into the Woods and Wet Hot American Summer, where in both roles he was able to show off his comedy and musical chops.  Between his versatility in the arts and his good sense for action, Pine is one of the more exciting actors to be making his name in Hollywood.




9. Idris Elba
The British actor has been doing important work for many years in both TV and film.  Most notably his role as Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, and more recently as an African warlord in Netflix's Beasts of No Nation. In addition to these groundbreaking roles, he has done comedy, action, and appreciates being a part of a franchise through his involvement with Marvel.  Recent rumors suggest he could become the first black man to play the role of James Bond.  If these rumors come to fruition the character is in good hands.

8. Tom Cruise
I've said it in my reviews before, this guy is just a straight up movie star.  His charisma alone puts people in seats and it is men like him that keep the film industry thriving.  In addition to his personality, the guy can really act when he is given the opportunity.  It's unfortunate that he has been typecast as only really being able to do action, and issues in his personal life have affected his image. But Tom Cruise is and always will be one of the greatest of all time.



7. Bradley Cooper
There is an argument to be made that Bradley Cooper is the best working actor right now.  Starting with Silver Linings Playbook, followed by American Hustle and American Sniper, Cooper has received Oscar nominations three years in a row now for either leading or supporting actor.  Not to mention his comedy chops, which gave him his big break in Wedding Crashers and The Hangover.  Cooper has come a long way, and the accolades will continue to roll in as he stars in films like Burnt and Joy coming soon.




6. Daniel Craig
Craig belongs on this list for the sole reason that he revitalized one of the greatest film characters of all time.  He took the camp stereotypes of the Bond character and turned him into one of the most rugged badasses in film.  Beyond this, he is brilliant in films like Layercake and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and is such a classically trained presence on this list.  As much as I love him as Bond, I look forward to the work he'll be doing once he's free of that contract.









5. Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe is great because he's a lot like Mel Gibson, just not as much of an asshole.  They're both Australian, they're both masters of period pieces (i.e. Braveheart and Gladiator, The Patriot and Master and Commander, etc.), and they both seem kind of mean.  The difference is that Mel Gibson's trouble is his anti-semitic sentiments, while Crowe's is that he just gets pissed off when he works with amateurs.  The guy has a little bit of crazy in him which plays into his performances and makes him a great villain like in Les Miserables, or a flawed hero like L.A Confidential or A Beautiful Mind.




4. Robert Redford
The king of Sundance, the kid himself, the wonder boy, Robert Redford is one of the greatest actors who ever lived, and probably the actor who has given the most to the industry.  He's starred in classics like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, dramas like The Natural and All the President's Men, and is still killing it as a 79 year old in movies like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and A Walk in the Woods.  But most importantly, he started the Sundance Film Festival, which gives up and coming filmmakers the opportunity to show their talents and pursue their dreams in the industry.










3. Kevin Spacey
I know mentioned above that this list was a culmination of my many opinions, but this next statement tis basically fact: Kevin Spacey is the most talented person in Hollywood. He makes a compelling hero, a menacing villain, a conniving supporter who is willing to undertake any form of a role.  He is hilarious, he can sing, dance, he is a master of impressions, and is classically trained as a Shakespearean actor fro Julliard. His roles in Se7en and The Usual Suspects easily put him on the map as one of the great villainous actors, not to mention his continued ownership of that title as Frank Underwood in House of Cards.  Spacey also owns and runs a theater in England that specializes in classic Shakespeare and Greek and Roman plays, which allows him to dip into directing, producing, and giving up and coming actors the opportunity to learn from him.




2. Viggo Mortenson
It would take some serious convincing to get me to watch a Danish foreign film, and yet to this day I've seen about five of them because Viggo Mortensen does them so well. I have no greater wish than to see Mortensen come back to Hollywood and take on a great American role, because he is one of the most underrated actors of the century.  After his perfect portrayal of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings and continued success in mainstream films like A History of Violence and Hidalgo, Mortensen has been fantastic in smaller films like Appaloosa and Good, but nothing would be more exciting than seeing him come back and take on a villainous role.  What makes Viggo such a great actor is his commitment to roles.  Rumor has it that he used to sleep with the horses during the filming of Lord of the Rings, and there are two scenes in the trilogy during which he broke a bone, and used the pain as part of his performance. This guy is the real deal.




1. Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr. is the biggest actor in Hollywood right now thanks to his ownership of Tony Stark, he has always been fantastic in the Marvel movies and was born to be Iron Man.  But more important than this is his personal story of redemption.  His talent was never in question after his success in Chaplin and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but his drug use and erratic behavior caused his downfall.  Which is why his is a story that proves anyone can make a comeback.  In addition to returning to strong form as Tony Stark, he was brilliant in the comedic role of Tropic Thunder, and has started his own production studio with his wife, which produced the acclaimed film The Judge.  RDJ deserves his success, and he is spreading the wealth of his comeback to all who surround him, which makes the film industry a great one to be a part of.